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Tag: mobile phones

Virginia Natural Gas donates $500K to Hampton University

Virginia Beach-based Virginia Natural Gas and its parent company, Southern Co., announced Thursday that the companies are donating $500,000 to Hampton University to support information technology infrastructure upgrades in light of new remote learning needs brought on by the pandemic.

The funds, which are part of the Southern Co. Foundation’s $50 million HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities) Initiative, will be used for technology upgrades in the Center for Technology Excellence. The initiative grants funding to HBCUs for scholarships, internships, leadership development, technology access and career readiness programs.

“After speaking with many institutions across our footprint, we heard the call loud and clear: New and better technology is needed to deliver quality education to students, now and in years to come,” Southern Co. President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning said in a statement. “The goal is to provide resources that will stimulate the kind of critical thinking that will allow students to embrace ideas that will drive the change required for success today and into the future.”

The university intends to use the funding to improve remote instruction, secure data, authenticate signatures and develop a mobile campus communications app.

“Hampton University appreciates this generous donation from Virginia Natural Gas and Southern Co.,” university President William R. Harvey said in a statement. “These funds will further enhance Hampton University’s commitment to employing advanced technological tools to our students and faculty especially during these unprecedented times where virtual learning is key.”

Founded in 1868, Hampton University is a private university with more than 4,200 students. Virginia Natural Gas delivers energy to nearly 300,000 southeastern Virginia customers.

 

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McLean firm wins $7.3M DARPA 5G security contract

McLean-based computer and network security company Kryptowire LLC won a four-year, $7.3 million contract to help the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) conduct research and development services for 5G mobile network security, according to a Department of Defense statement released Tuesday. 

Under the contract, Kryptowire will work under DARPA’s Open, Programmable, Secure 5G (OPS-5G) initiative, which seeks to establish an open-source system to support next-generation networks, such as 6G communications, according to the DoD.

The goal of the OPS-5G effort is to drive research into standards-compliant 5G network stacks, according to DARPA. 

The agency received 40 bids for the contract and will obligate $883,977 in fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds at the time of the award, according to the DoD.

Work on the contract will take place in Virginia through September 2024.

Founded in 2011, Kryptowire provides automated military-grade software assurance and compliance testing technologies to both private and public organizations.

 

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Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband service comes to Hampton Roads

Verizon announced Monday that its 5G Ultra Wideband mobility service is now active in Hampton Roads. The service is available in 31 cities across the country and works on seven mobile phone models.

The fifth-generation cellular network covers several parts of the region, including Virginia Beach Oceanfront, downtown Norfolk, Newport News, Old Dominion University, Hampton and Chesapeake. It’s also available near landmarks such as the boardwalk, Hilltop Shopping Center, The Scope, S.B. Ballard Stadium, Crossways Shopping Center, Peninsula Town Center and Hampton Coliseum.

“It’s exciting to see 5G launch in the 757, and the race is on to expand it across Virginia,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “This technology will propel the industries that drive coastal Virginia — the military, advanced manufacturing, logistics, higher education, health care, tourism and more. We can’t wait to see new opportunities unfold for workers and innovators.”

The Washington, D.C., region already has 5G access, including around the Reagan National Airport and Crystal City, but Hampton Roads is the first larger region solely in Virginia to receive 5G. Verizon also announced Monday that its mobility service is now live in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.